ST. GEORGE – A couple of Region 9 teams got critical road wins Friday night, with Snow Canyon officially clinching the Region 9 title with a 2-1 win at Canyon View and Pine View locking up the final playoff spot from the region with a 2-1 victory at Hurricane. Desert Hills also won, beating Cedar 6-1 for the Thunder’s third straight lopsided victory.

That means first-seeded Snow Canyon and second seeded Dixie will host first round 4A playoff games on Thursday, while third-seeded Desert Hills will go on the road, as will fourth-seeded Pine View. The Warriors (9-0-5) will host Salem Hills (8-7-2), while the Flyers (10-1-3) are home for Spanish Fork (6-7-1). The Thunder (9-2-4) travel to Orem (11-2-3), and the Panthers open up with Mountain View (11-0-1). All four games are scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday.

Here’s a recap of Friday’s regular season finales:

Snow Canyon 2, Canyon View 1

It was a windy day in Cedar City (when is it not?), and the hometown Falcons were hungry to clinch a playoff spot. But the Warriors ultimately showed why they are the region champions, toughing out the elements and the feisty Falcons for the close road win.

“We came out flat in the first half and Canyon View was playing like it was a playoff game as they had to win to get in,” Snow Canyon coach Marc Wittwer said. “Both teams traded some good opportunities. Second half we gave a better effort and possessed the ball pretty well.”

Yetzel Carrillo had a penalty kick that would have given his team the lead blocked away by CV keeper Matt Bench. But Carrillo got the last laugh by scoring on a breakaway moments later to give the Warriors the lead.

Canyon View got the equalizer moments later on a goal by Scott Sanders, but Carrillo nailed the game winner with a hammer strike on a free kick just outside the box.

“Jaxon Gates gave us a solid defensive effort as we fought the wind,” Wittwer said. Snow Canyon also got a good effort from keeper Austin Mild.

Carrillo passed Ben Kemp for the lead in goal scoring for Snow Canyon on the season. He now has 12 on the year (Kemp has 11).

It is the second straight outright title for Snow Canyon, and the third straight overall at the top of the standings. The Warriors have not been beaten this year, with nine overall wins and five ties. In the playoffs, games go to a penalty kick shootout if a winner is not decided in the regulation and the two overtimes.

SC hosts Salem Hills Thursday at 4 p.m. Canyon View ends the year with a 6-7-2 record, 5-7-0 in region and in fifth place.

Desert Hills 6, Cedar 1

They’ve been flying under the radar in third place, but the Thunder have quietly put together an impressive second half of the season. In the past week, D-Hills has outscored three opponents 19-1. And the Thunder have gone 6-0-3 since starting the season at 3-2-1.

On Friday, Desert Hills rushed out to a 3-1 halftime lead and then shutout the Redmen 3-0 after intermission.

“We are starting to find the back of the net these last few games,” D-Hills coach Benji Nelson said. “Earlier in the season, we were taking shots, but not shots with accuracy.We have bonded and come closer as a team. I feel confident we have the talent to make a run for the title.”

Walker Heaton has been a big part of the recent success for the Thunder and he had a huge game on Friday. The senior, who now has 25 career goals for Desert Hills, scored four times against Cedar. He passed teammate Ben Simister for the team lead with the effort.

Also scoring for the Thunder were Jake Barton and Sawyer Heaton. The D-Hills assists were by Bridger Nelson (2), Barton, Garrett Lewis, Kelton Holt and Will Schroder.

The Thunder, 9-2-4 overall and 7-1-4 in region, travel to Orem Thursday for the first round of the 4A state playoffs.

Tito Garcia scored the lone goal for Cedar, which finishes the year 2-12 overall and 1-11 in region play.

Pine View 2, Hurricane 1

Panther Rhett Taylor was the only player to find the back of the net in the second half and his goal was the difference as Pine View grabbed the fourth and final playoff spot with the road win.

The game was tied at 1-1 at halftime, with Blakely Wright scoring for Hurricane and Alex Rodriguez notching a goal for Pine View.

It was the first goal of the season for Taylor, who helped his team win its final two games to get into the playoffs. For Rodriguez, it was goal number five on the year.

Pine View is the fourth seed from Region 9 and will travel to take on Region 10 champion Mountain View Thursday at 4 p.m.

It was also the first goal of the season for Hurricane’s Wright. The Tigers finish the year 1-14 overall and 1-11 in region games.

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About the Author

Andy Griffin has been in sports media since 1989 and has covered BYU, Utah State and the Utah Jazz as well as all sports in southern Utah. A journalism graduate of USU, Andy has carried on a dual career as both a sports writer and a sports broadcaster and has been heard around the country. He has also been published in USA Today, Sport magazine, The Sporting News, Fairways magazine, the Los Angeles Times and locally in the Deseret News, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Spectrum. Andy was “The Voice of Region 9 sports,” for many years. He also hosted a daily sports talk show for three years called AG in the a.m.
Andy has been married to his college sweetheart Shelly for 28 years and has five children ages 13 to 25.